The World Bank recently released its 2009 Doing Business report, which assesses 181 countries with regard to the ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw its ranking in the overall ease of doing business improve by eight positions, from 54th in 2008 to a current 46th. Despite the improvement, the UAE’s position is lower than the positions of many of its neighbors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Saudi Arabia ranks 16th, Bahrain ranks 18th and Qatar ranks 37th.
This brief reviews outcomes for the UAE in Doing Business. It compares results for the UAE with those from other GCC states, Singapore (which leads the rankings as the most business-friendly economy) and other leading countries. The brief explains outcomes for the UAE and highlights areas for reform that would improve the development of SMEs in the country. |